Turbine systems are widely utilized in fields such as power generation. For example, a conventional gas turbine system includes a compressor, a combustor, and a turbine. During operation of the gas turbine system, various components in the system are subjected to high temperature flows, which can cause the components to fail. Since higher temperature flows generally result in increased performance, efficiency, and power output of the gas turbine system, the components that are subjected to high temperature flows must be cooled to allow the gas turbine system to operate at increased temperatures.
Various strategies are known in the art for cooling various gas turbine system components. For example, a cooling medium may be routed from the compressor and provided to various components. In the compressor and turbine sections of the system, the cooling medium may be utilized to cool various compressor and turbine components.
Buckets are one example of a hot gas path component that must be cooled. For example, various parts of the bucket, such as the airfoil, the platform, the shank, and the dovetail, are disposed in a hot gas path and exposed to relatively high temperatures, and thus require cooling. Various cooling passages and cooling circuits may be defined in the various parts of the bucket, and cooling medium may be flowed through the various cooling passages and cooling circuits to cool the bucket.
In many known buckets, however, various portions of the buckets may reach higher than desired temperatures during operation despite the use of such cooling passages and cooling circuits. For example, despite the use of such cooling passages and cooling circuits in the platforms of known buckets, various portions of the buckets may reach higher than desired temperatures. Specific portions that are of concern in known buckets are the aft portion of the platform and the portion of the platform adjacent to the suction side slash face. Despite the use of known cooling circuits, such as a platform cooling circuit, and the use of cooling air bled from the shank cavity, in platforms, cooling of such portions of the platform may currently be inadequate.
Accordingly, an improved bucket assembly for a turbine system is desired in the art. Specifically, a bucket assembly with improved cooling features would be advantageous.